Autoimmune vasculitis resulting from in vitro immunization of lymphocytes to smooth muscle.

Lymphocytes sensitized in vitro to syngenic microvascular smooth muscle and transferred to syngeneic recipients produced in vivo microvessel vasculitis characterized by mononuclear cells which adhered to endothelium, infiltrated the vessel wall, and formed a perivascular cuff. A granulomatous type of vascular inflammation was seen in 20% of the affected recipients in which the vessel smooth muscle appeared to be preferentially attacked. These lesions bear a striking resemblance to certain human vasculitides, and the model provides an important means of studying vasculitis as well as general cellular autoimmune disease mechanisms.